Written in Blood

A Blessing or a Curse? part 4

Early in the morning the sounds of birds chirping and the men of the village leaving to go to their work and farms woke Ao Ruang as he opened his eyes. The night has been mostly restless for him as the hunger that was originally slightly appeased by the food he ate came back halfway through the night. Digging his fingers into his hands he tried to think of anything else besides the hunger he felt.

Propping himself up he put on the veil for his eyes and stretched his now white hair was a bit of a mess, but it didn't take long before he could fix it and let it fall down his back in an orderly fashion.

"Ao Ruang!" Da Qiao called out "breakfast is ready!"

The thought of food was nearly driving him insane, but he continued to try and keep his wits about him. Shuffling out of the room he sniffed to smell something sweet. The aroma was intoxicating, but unfamiliar to him.

"What are we having?" Ao Ruang said excitedly as he looked around for whatever was giving off that intoxicating smell.

Da Qiao smiled lightly as she brought out the food "nothing special, just a local river fish that was caught."

Ao Ruang had a slight bad reaction. There was no way this fried fish was letting off such a sweet scent. With a sigh he quickly bit off a chunk of the fish. As the piece of meat slid down his throat he felt an instant repulsion.

*Acckk*

Ao Ruang ran from the table and threw up the chunks of fish. The hunger he was repressing until now surged even more.

"Ao Ruang...are you okay?" A worried voice came from behind him.

With a weak smile he nodded "err yeah I just feel a little sick is all I will come back in a second."

"Oh..well just feel better. That is fine. Just let me know if I can help." Da Qiao spoke a hint of worry in her voice.

Ao Ruang sat down on the floor as he took several deep breaths to get his bearings. 'What the hell is wrong with me? This has to be caused by what the thing did to me in the cave. I can't even enjoy a damned meal!'

*Ba dum*

A loud rhythmic thumping sound crashed into his head suddenly causing his head to snap in the direction it came from. Whatever it was it seemed like it was calling to him..like his entire being needed it.

*Ba dum*

"What is this noise?" he muttered to himself.

The sound rang out in a consistent pattern. The house was empty so it wasn't someone besides Da Qiao, but how would she be making this noise? Yet, she was the only one in the house so it had to be her.

Stumbling back into the room Ao Ruang's eyes landed on Da Qiao who was washing dishes in a basin. His eyes looked the pretty girl up and down if he didn't have his veil on one would see bloodshot crimson eyes boring into the back of her neck. As if her skin had turned slightly transparent he could see the path of her veins web throughout her exposed skin not covered by her dress.

The overwhelming hunger continued to build as he took a step towards her his desires had reached a penultimate state as he stood a mere three feet from her. He had approached silently like a predator hunting prey in the wild.

Da Qiao continued to wash dishes unawares, but like all prey she felt a shiver run down her spine as she turned around to see Ao Ruang stalking slowly towards her, his aura releasing a sinister aura from himself. An instinctive fear washed over her.

"A--Ao Ruang what are you.." she stuttered.

Before she could finish another word Ao Ruang pounced on her letting two sharp teeth plunge into the nape of her neck. Using one hand he covered her mouth forcefully to suppress any scream that would be uttered.

With a quickly muffled groan of pain Da Qiao struggled to wrench Ao Ruang off her as she felt her blood being drained away.

Quickly, she had all will to fight her attempts to struggle away gave way to some euphoria. Ao Ruang had clamped down hard on neck a sweet scent drifted into his nostrils as he inhaled deeply continuing to gulp mouthfuls of blood. Da Qiao's breath began to erratic as she slowly lost consciousness. While she had passed out from blood loss it didn't appear like she would die from the wound. Ao Ruang quickly wrapped it with some rags and stumbled backwards blood still dripping from his chin. Horror and revultion overtook him, but despite his desire to vomit his body was too satisfied by the taste and sheer amounts of power in it. The intense hunger he felt before had gone away completely.

"Wha--what have I done? Why would I drink her blood...what is wrong with me!" Ao Ruang began to panic as he looked at the passed out girl on the ground. "I can't stay here. I will be strung up like a monster. I need to leave for the city." Ao Ruang nodded to himself before running to his room and packing any spare clothes or items he may need. Before he left he took several days worth of food and supplies in a pack and grabbed the only weapon he could find a staff and long kitchen knife.

Before the sun had even reached its peak Ao Ruang had taken a horse and was already far enough away from the village to where it was a mere dot in the distance.

Looking back Ao Ruang felt some guilt, but knew it was worthless to worry about now. Turning to continue down the path Ao Ruang followed down the grassy plains towards Firedawn city. The poor girl was likely going to survive and after she revealed what happened he would be hunted as a monster.